How to create the perfect loaf: tips from a baking extraordinaire
- Posted by
- Katie O'Malley
- Published

Guest judge for Stylist Cake Off’s Bread Week, Cyril Blevanus from Paul, shares his baking knowledge and top tips for novice bakers
Cyril’s favourite bread is…
“Pain de Campagne sourghdough bread with a mixture of good white flour and a bit of rye to give it that great taste. It takes about 3-4 hours but it’s worth the wait."
The most common mistake for novice bakers is…
“They want to make bread quickly which isn’t possible. You can’t have a good quality bread in two hours."
Top tips for beginner bakers…
“Take time, use less yeast and keep trying. It’s easy to make a good bread but it’s far more difficult to make the same bread to the same quality every day. You need to experiment with temperature and have patience so you can see what you can improve on and understand your mistakes and successes.”
The easiest bread to make is…
“The classic white bread. Make this before you start trying to mix ingredients.”
The most difficult bread to make is…
“Sourdough bread. It’s incredibly complicated to make, especially when you’re not professional.”
The most breads I’ve ever made in a day…
“Is about 3,000 loaves.”
Visit Paul's website here.
Remember to keep posting your weekly bakes to the Stylist Cake Off Instagram account tagging @stylistcakeoff and using the hashtag #stylistcakeoff.